Junya Watanabe COMME des GARCONS MAN 2012 February New Releases

An apprentice under the watchful eyes of COMME des GARCON founder Rei Kawakubo, Junya Watanabe started out as a pattern maker in 1987, before working his way through the ranks at CDG to be given his own in-house label in 1993. It was from that point that Watanabe’s signature style flourished. Hailed as “techno couture,” Junya mixes the traditional with the contemporary and the natural with the synthetic to create collections that are vastly different from season to season. Although littered with the hallmarks of Kawakubo’s influence, the MAN label has its own, very distinct look and feel, with irregular touches such as random folding, pleats and patches mixed with strong, bold patterning and traditional silhouettes.
The Spring/Summer 2012 collection is as bold as ever, yet ultimately still wearable – a balancing act that Watanabe manages better than anybody else.